April 1, 2015

Matthew 26: 14-25

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

Is it I, Lord?

In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Edmund betrays Aslan for a piece of Turkish Delight. In today’s Gospel, Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. And so I wonder, “What about me? What did I exchange when I chose to follow my own path and turn from Christ. What was the value of my betrayal?”

On this day, the eve of Holy Triduum, I turn my gaze to Christ upon the cross and realize that I betrayed him. My sins are the nails that pierced his hands and feet. What was so important to me that I exchanged it for the life of the Son of God? My own pride? My personal desires to grab all I can, to have the biggest toys, to follow my own heart regardless of the cost? Are any of these things really worth his life? Am I all that different from Edmund, from Judas?

Prayer

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Refrain:

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.

— “The Old Rugged Cross,” by George Bennard

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April 1, 2015

Matthew 26: 14-25

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

Is it I, Lord?

In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Edmund betrays Aslan for a piece of Turkish Delight. In today’s Gospel, Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. And so I wonder, “What about me? What did I exchange when I chose to follow my own path and turn from Christ. What was the value of my betrayal?”

On this day, the eve of Holy Triduum, I turn my gaze to Christ upon the cross and realize that I betrayed him. My sins are the nails that pierced his hands and feet. What was so important to me that I exchanged it for the life of the Son of God? My own pride? My personal desires to grab all I can, to have the biggest toys, to follow my own heart regardless of the cost? Are any of these things really worth his life? Am I all that different from Edmund, from Judas?